Springfield’s Uptown Market is fine-tuning its vibe.
The popular North Main Street neighborhood favorite will take on a new name, probably Uptown Kitchen & Bar; add a bar for full liquor service; adjust hours; update the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus; soften the floor to improve the acoustics; and update the ambience.
“We will be doing some renovations inside with new, more efficient kitchen equipment and change the scenery,” said General Manager Craig Audibert.
Audibert said Uptown needs 150 seats to obtain a liquor license. To help, it will add patio awnings to im-prove seating ca-pacity. He said Uptown serves beer and wine now.
The city approved a permit Thursday for Tenant Contractors Inc. to provide some interior work at a cost of $110,060. Audibert said he didn’t have an estimate of the total costs.
The restaurant, at 1303 N. Main St., comprises a 2,276-square-foot interior restaurant and 620 square feet of patio seating, according to the permit.
Construction could be completed by Christmas.
Audibert, who has been general manager since April, said owners are looking at changing tables and chairs and the color scheme, changing the lighting, and adding TVs to the bar area, which will take over the space used by the specials chalkboard and former deli space.
Hours now are 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. With the bar, Uptown might stay open later.
“We figured there is no other place in Springfield that does a full bar. Why not be that place?” Audibert said.
He said Uptown offers homestyle food with its open kitchen. He said the dinner menu will be changed, but those decisions are still in review.
Uptown Market is part of Gallery Restaurant Group LLC, which includes Burrito Gallery. Founders added John Valentino, owner of area Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurants, as an equity partner and CEO this year.
Uptown opened in 2009.
Audibert has been part of the Mellow Mushroom management team for almost five years. He remains affiliated with Mellow Mushroom, but spends all his time with Uptown Market.
Valentino said in April he expected to make some improvements at Uptown Market, possibly extending the hours of operation and adding new items to the menu.
Corner Bakery Cafe to open Dec. 8 in Riverside
Corner Bakery Cafe joins the Riverside neighborhood Dec. 8 when it opens at Brooklyn Station on Riverside.
The first 100 guests through the doors at 6 a.m. will receive a travel mug and free daily refills of coffee for a year.
During opening week, Corner Bakery Cafe will hold drawings to award a guest free grilled paninis for a year and a local business one free large Corner Classic catering order.
The Riverside Corner Bakery Cafe location is the second in Jacksonville. The first opened in September at 7111 Bonneval Road, just off Butler Boulevard. Both are owned and operated by Lee-Wesley Bakery Cafe, a franchise group.
Corner Bakery Cafe is a fast-casual restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It operates in 19 states and Washington, D.C. For information, visit cornerbakerycafe.com.
Miami Grill seeks Jacksonville franchisee
Miami Grill, considered the next generation of The New Miami Subs Grill based in Fort Lauderdale, seeks franchisees in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and St. Petersburg. Miami Grill CEO Richard Chwatt said the fast-casual franchise “has been revived, rebranded
and reshaped.”
The company said almost 300 restaurants are committed to open, including recent openings in Hawaii and Miami. For information, visit miamigrillfranchise.com.
The site shows the estimated initial investment for a traditional restaurant at $267,000 to $458,000, including a franchise fee of $30,000.
Miami Grill started in Key West as Mr. Submarine and became Miami Subs in 1988. It evolved into Miami Grill with the inclusion of equity partner Armando Christian Perez, the rapper known as Pitbull.
Restaurants on the rise
• Jersey Mike’s Subs will renovate space at 13820 Old St. Augustine Road, No. 137, in Shoppes at Bartram Park.
• Chick-fil-A is going up in Mandarin at 3280 Oak Bluff Lane.
• Krystal is renovating its restaurants at 5444 Blanding Blvd. and 8015 Merrill Road.
• Little Caesars intends to open in Dunn Village at 6765 Dunn Ave., No. 205. The city is reviewing a permit for a $100,000 build-out.
Food bites
Food- and drink-related businesses filed names with the state Division of Corporations under the Fictitious Name Law to operate:
• Grillman’s, to Beaver Street Fisheries Inc., 1741 W. Beaver St.
• Woody’s Bar-B-Que Bay-meadows, to Powers BBQ LLC, 8206 Philips Highway, No. 25. Billy Morris is managing member and Jack Dunsmoor is manager of Powers BBQ LLC.
• Woody’s Bar-B-Que Powers, to Powers BBQ LLC, 5930 Powers Ave.
• Smok’d BBQ, to Gerald K. Nelson and Eyvette L. Conyers-Nelson, mailing address is 1228 Summit Oak Drive W.
• Jersey Mike’s Subs, to Formative Foods Inc., mailing address is 140 Sea Lily Lane, Ponte Vedra Beach. Michael W. Phillips is president of Formative Foods Inc.
• Mama Fu’s Asian House, to Florida Fu LLC, 11105 San Jose Blvd. Jeanne D. Graff and Todd M. Graff are members of Florida Fu LLC.
• Mr. Taco, to Mr. Taco South Inc. and Mr. Taco Hodges Inc., Hodges Plaza, 13799 Beach Blvd., No. 1. Ludwin Sanchez is president of Mr. Taco South and Mr. Taco Hodges.
• University Crab Shack, to Ghaith Fshaikat, 1352 University Blvd.
• Steaks Plus, to Charles Tolbert, mailing address is 1561 Crabapple Cove Court N.
• Tony’s Pizza, to PJ Pizza Co. LLC, 4255 U.S. 1 S., No. 8, St. Augustine.
• The Pierre Pizza, to Sidy Sant Holding LLC, 1910 Wells Road, No. 1093, Orange Park. Cheikh Mboup is the manager of Sidy Sant Holding. The location is the former Sbarro pizza in the Orange Park Mall.
Licensed to serve
Duval County Tax Collector Michael Corrigan issued a business license for:
• Panera Bread, to Panera LLC, 899 Atlantic Blvd., Atlantic Beach.
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